Crowds roil with anger after police shooting

Officers kill Englewood man who cops say fired gun at them

The Chicago Police Department increased patrols and a minister urged residents to stay indoors Saturday in hopes of reducing tensions in Englewood, where police and residents clashed after officers fatally shot a man who they say fired an automatic weapon at them.

"We told them that the front porch is not the best place to be tonight," said Rev. Paul Jakes, a community activist and minister at Old St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. "I know the pattern of some rogue police officers."

After the shooting early Saturday, residents pelted squad cars with rocks and bottles, and officers with dogs were called in to control the crowd, police said.

The increased police presence continued throughout Saturday, with marked squad cars patrolling the area in groups of three. Other squad cars could been seen pulling over motorists.

Tensions between some residents and police have been growing in that area of Englewood as police have cracked down on crime, said Ald. Shirley Coleman (16th).

"That area has been a hot spot," Coleman said. "The [district] commander has taken a zero-tolerance [approach]. People have been feeling a form of harassment because of zero tolerance. Young people are feeling the heat of zero tolerance."

Chicago police spokesman David Bayless said the department's investigation concluded the two officers involved in the shooting acted in accordance with department rules. They "feared for their lives," he said.

Bayless said officers arrived at 59th and Peoria Streets about 12:45 a.m. in response to a report of shots fired. They saw an armed man standing in the street, he said.

When officers identified themselves, the man fired several rounds at them, Bayless said. Officers returned fire, Bayless said, and the man collapsed in front of a home in the 5900 block of South Peoria.

Police and friends identified the man as Sharron Grant, 23, a father of two who lived in the 5900 block of South Sangamon Street.

Shortly after the exchange of gunfire, scores of residents emerged from their homes, police said. At the same time, "several dozen" officers began arriving to offer assistance.

Some residents began shouting at police, he said, while others started throwing rocks and bottles. Residents said police were verbally abusing the crowd.

One nearby resident, Derrick Lawson of the 5800 block of South Sangamon, said police in search of a possible second suspect kicked in his door and stormed his home, telling his children to get out of the way because officers "knew where the guns were."

Reginald Smith, who lives a few feet from the shooting, said he was startled out of bed by gunshots. When he looked out his front window, Grant was on the ground near his porch.

"I didn't want to come out of the house," said Smith, 28. "But there was a lot of other people out on the streets looking around."

Smith said some of the rounds fired pierced the aluminum awning that hangs in the front of his home.

A Japanese-made assault rifle and several shell casings were recovered at the scene, Bayless said. No arrests were made.

At an unrelated appearance Saturday afternoon, Mayor Richard Daley said the area where the shooting took place has been a hotbed of gang and drug activity recently. The issue has surfaced several times in recent community meetings with elected officials, he said.

Coleman, who represents a portion of Englewood, said the shooting became an important topic of discussion during a planned community meeting Saturday.

Police were acting in the best interest of the neighborhood and residents, she said.

"Anyone who comes into the community with [an assault rifle] is asking for trouble," Coleman said. "The police are doing their job."

Derrick Mosley, an area activist, agreed that the police did about the only thing they could, considering they were fired upon.

"There has to be a level of responsibility on the part of young men," he said. "We can't get around that as a people."

"The police do have a dangerous job," he added. "There has to be a balance."

Some residents, however, said Saturday's increased police presence has only heightened tensions between police and residents.

Tressie Johnson, 62, of the 5900 block of South Peoria, said the patrols are like "throwing salt in an open wound. It's too late [for police] to try to help. You didn't help before."

Anthony Williams, 30, Grant's cousin, said authorities were "harassing people" rather than lowering tensions. Shortly before 8 p.m., officers in a squad car were seen heckling a small group who gathered at a makeshift memorial where Grant died.

Jerry Lawrence, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office, said Grant was convicted in July 2000 of possession of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school.

He was on parole for aggravated battery in an incident involving an off-duty police officer.

In that incident in June 2001, an officer on a motorcycle was hit in the neck by a rope Grant had strung across Halsted Street, Lawrence said. The officer lost control of his bike and crashed into another parked on the side of the road. The officer suffered cuts on his throat.